Plants represent an enormous source of biomass, predominantly consisting of lignin and cellulose, and rank on top in terms of the volume of renewable resource materials found in nature. Wood comprises of about 20% lignin, and is separated from cellulose by different methods including sulfite pulping, Kraft and organosolv method. The cellulose produced is mainly used in paper manufacturing but leaves behind an enormous quantity of lignin by-product. It is estimated that less than 2% of the lignin produced in the world is used.1 The main uses for lignin are in the area of dispersants, adhesives and surfactants.
Lignin has a complex structure that superficially resembles phenol-formaldehyde resin. There are three different types of lignin monomeric units, namely, guaiacyl (significant in soft wood), syringyl and sinepyl alcohol all of which contain a phenylpropenoid unit in their structure. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the three different types of alcohols/phenols, namely, (a) guaiacyl, (b) syringyl and (c) sinapyl alcohol in lignin, respectively.
The structures shown in FIG. 1 indicate that lignin is a significant source of aromatics and could in theory and in practice compete with petroleum as an aromatic hydrocarbon resource. Extensive research on lignin utilization has been carried out over several decades but has taken on even more importance with the prospect of dwindling petroleum resources.
One of the areas where lignin has been explored is in the area of carbon fibers. Currently carbon fiber feedstocks are derived from polyacrylonitrile, pitch and rayon. However lower costs are required for penetration in high volume applications such as their use as carbon composites in high strength and light weight transport vehicles.
Carbon fibers may be made by treating lignin fibers at 1000° to 2000° C. while maintaining a fibrous structure during a stabilization stage in which the fibers are heated under tension at 200°-300° C. in presence of air. Low cost carbon fibers from lignin have been shown to be feasible by researchers at Oakridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tenn.2 
Activated carbon fibers and metal composites have been prepared from lignin by an acid treatment and fiber formation using extrusion or melt spinning techniques, followed by progressive heating to 400° C. (<500° C.).3 In a related research flash carbonization of biomass by controlled ignition at elevated pressures within a packed bed has been achieved by researchers at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute.4 Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been obtained from grass by heating in presence of oxygen. Rapid heat treatment at ˜600° C. in presence of oxygen converts the vascular bundles into CNTs. The procedure is tedious considering numerous heating and cooling cycles have to be performed for CNT formation.5 Nanocarbons with controlled morphology have been prepared by microwave heating of conducting polymers. It was found that doped-polypyrrole, -polythiophene and -poly(ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) can be carbonized by simple microwave heating.6 
Carbon-metal nanocomposites represent a new class of materials with niche applications in a variety of areas including electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radar shielding, fuel cells, capacitors, catalysts and solar cells. Nickel nanotubes encapsulated in CNTs have been obtained via the pyrolysis of ethylene on an array of nickel nanotubes. The procedure calls for the use of ethylene gas at 650° C. heated by conventional means.7 Synthesis of carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles for fuel cell application have been accomplished by microwave treatment of H2PtCl6 in presence of carbon black.8 Cu-doped carbon composites may be used as electrode materials for electrochemical capacitors. The composite was prepared by combining a phenolic resin, ferrocene, hexamethylenetetramine, and Cu(CH3COO)22H2O and heated at 800° C. in nitrogen atmosphere and activated in steam at 800° C. for different time periods.9 
One of the applications that have attracted a lot of attention recently is in the petroleum industry. The hydroprocessing of crude oil containing S and N is of paramount importance to the gas and oil industry. This will play an ever increasing importance in the future due to declining quality of oil produced as well as stricter laws mandating reduced level in gasoline and diesel. In view of keeping up with the imposed restrictions it is imperative that improved catalysts for accomplishing these goals be investigated. Researchers have shown that transition metal phosphides are very active catalysts in hydroprocessing.15,16 Among these catalysts Nickel phosphide, Ni2P on silica support has been shown to exhibit excellent performance characteristics in both hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) as well as hydrodesulfurization (HDS) with activities greater than commercially available mixed transition metal Ni—Mo—S/Al2O3 catalyst.11 
The discovery of Ni2P as an outstanding catalyst for both HDN and HDS has attracted interest in the synthesis of nickel phosphides.12 A comparison of the different synthetic procedures for transition metal phosphide synthesis, indicates that most are tedious that use highly reactive and expensive precursors, use electrolytic reduction or H2 gas for the transformation. Prior techniques have included the combination of the elements under extreme temperature and pressure, reaction of metal chloride with phosphine gas, decomposition of complex organometallics, electrolysis and reduction of phosphate with gaseous hydrogen.10 These techniques are neither economically attractive nor quick or safe, for large scale commercial manufacture in an industrial setting.
A method for controlled synthesis of Ni2P nanocrystals has been reported recently by Liu et al.13 The procedure involves reacting yellow phosphorous and Ni2SO4 in ethylene glycol: water solvent in an autoclave at 180° C. for 12 hours. The black solid product is filtered and washed with absolute ethanol, benzene and water. The XRD of the product showed that it was Ni2P and the morphology was dendritic as determined by SEM. The mechanism of the formation of the product was thought to involve the formation of PH3 upon the reaction of P with water and with H3PO4. Once generated nickel ions were theorized to combine with PH3 to form Ni2P.
Xie et. al14 have reported the synthesis of irregular Nickel phosphide nanocrystals containing Ni, Ni3P, Ni5P2 and Ni12P5 by a milder route using NiCl2 and sodium hypophosphite as reactants at 190° C. The product after reflux was washed with ammonia and ethanol. Copper phosphide hollow spheres have been synthesized in ethylene glycol by a solvothermal process using copper hydroxide and elemental phosphorus as starting material using an autoclave at 200° C. for 15 hours.15 
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.